Awesome Father's Day moments

Wake-uppers:

Scene: The oldest beauty pageant in Bohol has a new title, Miss Bohol 2014. Got what it takes to be the successors of Miss Bohol Sandugo 2005 Anna Maris Igpit (Bb. Pilipinas-World 2006), Miss Bohol 1998 Emma Mumar (who was a semi-finalist in the 1968 edition of Bb. Pilipinas) and Miss Bohol Sandugo 2003 Cherry Mae Bacaro (Bb. Pilipinas 2003 semi-finalist)? Deadline for Miss Bohol 2014 application is on June 20 at the Governor’s Mansion Tourism Office.

Scene:  The 262 kilometer-long human prayer chain mapping out the entire stretch of the province’s Circumferential Road last June 12.

Scene: From Fiel Angeli Araoarao-Gabin: June 12, 2014. Indeed, a milestone... The Provincial Government of Bohol, under the leadership of Gov. Edgardo M. Chatto and the City Government of Tagbilaran led by Mayor John Geesnell Baba Yap II jointly celebrated the 116th Philippine Independence Day anniversary, with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Dinky Soliman as guest of honor.

Scene: Erstwhile Carmen Mayor Che Toribio-Delos Reyes at the Pagpupugay: A Tribute to 100 Years of Philippine Sports on June 12 at Resorts World. Her uncle, the Olympic hero Rep. Simeon Toribio, was one of the 19 heroes of Philippine sports who left their mark in the world stage for the past 100 years.

  

Scene: The 1, 690 grade 1 pupils in selected schools  of Buenavista and Inabanga  who received bags and school supplies from GMA Kapuso Foundation’s  Unang Hakbang sa Kinabukasan. The GMAKF team also visited the island barangays of Cuaming and Hambongan in Inabanga.

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It's time for us to thank our father, daddy, itay, papa, popsy, tatay, papang, appa, ama, for everything that he does. Like Mother's Day, Father's Day was created to honor, acknowledge and appreciate the important role played by a father in raising the child and consequently building a stronger society.

Benjie Oliva and wife Atty. Joan

Last week, I was watching two great movies about fathers. Bao Shi Fu Zi, a 1983 movie tells about Bao who is honest and works hard so he can provide everything needed for his son to become successful.  In Sleepless in Seattle, Sam Baldwin loses his wife Maggie to cancer. He wants to start anew in Seattle with his son Jonah but continues to grieve. As much as Jonah misses his mother, he calls a radio talk show in an attempt to find his father a partner. Hundreds of women write to Sam after hearing his moving story.

Inspired by these movies, I asked more than two dozen people in Bohol and worldwide this question: What awesome Father's Day moment will you always remember?

Pinay Vera (3rd from left) with dad, brother and Mom

More than half of those asked simply didn’t answer. Here are those who did:

Pinay Vera- My tatay wrote me notes or letters since I was a kid and placed these under my door. Even in college, he would send me letters. I remembered these letters were well-written and very expressive. He would write me when he was happy with me and my grades or achievement, behavior or what not, and he would write me when he was mad at me or disappointed. I guess I inherited my passion for writing from him!

Melchor “Meljun” Daniel Jr- The memory I had with my father that stands out was when he took me to the doctor for my circumcision. Although I knew that it was going to hurt, there was a reassuring comfort that everything would be alright simply because Papa was there with me. Now that I am a father, it's something that I was also able to do some two years ago when it was their time to be "inducted into manhood.'

Melchor Daniel Jr (extreme right) with family

Chandrina Elluiska Schreurs-Wallace-My dad is the first man that I loved and will forever love...when  I was little, the best moment with my dad was when he puts me at his shoulder or he carries me with his feet and walked to every part of the house... when I was a teenager, that special moment was when he cried at my debut and gave me the priceless gift that I could ever received, the contraction graph, this was done when my mom was still pregnant with me.

Chandrina with her father Wil and sister Bianca

Benjie Oliva- My father passed away when I was four years old. So, I have a few memories with him. But one thing I can recall was during his wake at the house of which I thought was my father's birthday party since most of our neighbors and relatives were present. I grew up with my mother and I’m very proud of her who stood as both mother and father for me and my elder brother even during the tough and challenging times of her life. And by October this year, when it will be my time to be a father of a baby girl, I will give and do everything as a good and loving father. Life is too short as they say so I will spend every minute of the day as a father to my future children all the way.

Clement (3rd from left) with his family

Clement Ingking- On the very hour of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that had left us devastated, our mother Erlinda suddenly passed away due to complications from a heart attack. We rushed to the hospital and opened the blanket of the hospital bed and saw our mom, lifeless. The unexpected death of our mom was very painful for us. The break in our parent-child bond reverberated for the rest of our lives especially that I am a Mama’s boy. I, my Papa and my younger brother considers everyday as memorable to cherish for we are slowly coping up and we are strengthening each other to fulfill the grief from the loss of our mom. It's not so common anymore to have a father who's really there, who is the provider for his family, whose predictability creates a sense of stability and security in his household. We are so thankful that we can depend on him.  A real father, responsible, trustworthy and a great role model. We've learned a lot of good things from watching him. We love you Papa Paul!

Mikey Gatal

Mikey Gatal- I will always consider my dad (Rogelio Torralba Gatal) as one of my heroes in life and you know why? He pushed me away out of Bohol in a nice way because he believes that I have the talent and especially the heart to succeed. True enough, I still help my family and do some charity works on the side. He will always be remembered as a very tough guy and friendly at the same time. I guess, I got it from dad, I miss him so much and he must be so proud of me right now.

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